vote. subway is offering discounts because this happens to be national sandwich day. >> we will be eating and drinking a lot. up next, we will send it over to lester holt who will lead our national coverage. we will be checking in twice an hour through the night with the local results. >> stay with nbcbayarea.com for complete coverage. test. test test. tonight, a historic election night in america. the first polls beginning to close and voters giving us the first clues in what could be the most consequential election in generations. donald trump and joe biden, the fight to the finish in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. the president today visiting campaign headquarters. his final message to his supporters in a tough re-election battle. biden at the grave of his son, beau. then last-minute campaigning in his all-important home state pennsylvania. tonight the path to 270. the key states to watch. our team in all of the critical battlegrounds.

early voting shattering records. over 100 million votes already cast before today. but late word, hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots delayed. the reminders of the raging virus everywhere. voters wearing masks. and the lines for voting right beside lines for testing. across the country cities on edge 37 businesses broorded up. the national guard in places on alert for potential unrest. and the uncertainty. will we know the winner tonight or are we in for an election cliffhanger? >> announcer: this is nbc "nightly news." "decision 2020." here is lester holt. good evening, everyone. from nbc news election headquarters. the first polls beginning to close as we come on the air tonight on an evening that could give us four more years of president trump or propel joe biden into the white house. no major issues reported so far as voters cast their ballots across the country, adding their voices to the more than 100 million

americans that have already voted in this election. the president thanking campaign workers earlier as he prepares to watch returns at the white house. joe biden ending his campaign in his birthplace, scranton, pennsylvania. we have it all covered for you, starting tonight with hallie jackson. >> reporter: a presidential pep talk at campaign headquarters in the final hours of the 2020 race. >> i think we're going to have a great night. but it's politics and it's elections and you never know. >> reporter: president trump now rallying his own troops after rallying supporters with five stops in the last 24 hours. and tonight three key things to watch. the map, the message, and the mood. >> we're going to win this state so easily. >> reporter: mapping out a win means holding on to key battlegrounds the president took in 2016, where polls now show close races. campaign sources say they feel good about states like north carolina, georgia, and florida where the first lady cast her ballot this morning. advisers acknowledged to nbc news michigan is an uphill climb but it's crucial pennsylvania that

could be a tipping point, a state the president campaigned in more than any other. one source describing it as on a knife's edge. >> we spent a lot of time in pennsylvania. it's always been a very good place for me. >> reporter: the president's message, turn out. with this race a referendum not just on him -- >> this isn't about -- yeah, it is about me i guess when you think about it. >> reporter: but on his pandemic response as he again incorrectly suggests the country has a handle on covid cases. >> we're rounding the turn, by the way. they hate it when i say it. but we're rounding the turn. >> reporter: that's contradicted by one of his own top advisers, dr. deborah birx. in an internal report obtained by the "washington post" she pushes for much more aggressive action, an approach that is not being implemented, she says. the white house in response insists they're working around the clock to defeat the virus. the mood inside the trump orbit, anxiety mixed with cautious optimism. memories lingering of their 2016 come-from-behind win. but eyes on suburban women and seniors who have moved away from

president trump. and for the president himself, a rare reflective moment. >> winning is easy. losing is never easy. not for me it's not. >> reporter: tonight the president said to once mix official business with campaign activities as sources tell me several hundred people are expected in the east room for election night. covid testing required. lester? >> hallie jackson at the white house tonight. thank you. for his part joe biden will be watching the returns in delaware after spending part of the day in all-important pennsylvania. kristen welker is covering the biden campaign. >> reporter: joe biden with a final rallying cry tonight in critical pennsylvania. striking a note of confidence. >> i'm confident that people that didn't vote last time are showing up to vote, and i feel good about pennsylvania. >> reporter: and as biden battles for the white house, he returned today to the place where it all began, his childhood home in scranton. >> how are you? >> reporter: writing on the wall, "from this house to the white house, with the

grace of god." early this morning visiting the grave of his son, beau, who he called his good luck charm. >> let's win this! pennsylvania! >> reporter: pennsylvania is a key focus. overnight biden getting some high wattage help from lady gaga in pittsburgh. >> and folks, i have a feeling we're coming together for a big win tomorrow. >> reporter: tonight the entire biden campaign is aiming to express measured optimism. a campaign source telling nbc news, "even if they don't win the sunbelt states like arizona, georgia, florida and north carolina, they feel confident about their path to 270 electoral votes by rebuilding that blue wall that president trump broke through in 2016 in pennsylvania, wisconsin and michigan." kamala harris making stops in detroit today. >> everything is at stake including the future of our democracy. >> reporter: with battleground polls tightening and president trump attracting massive crowds to his swing state rallies, some democrats privately wondering if biden

should have hit the trail more frequently. tonight biden was asked if he would do anything differently. >> i haven't changed what i've been saying since the day i announced. i believe very, very strongly, i really mean it, that we have to restore decency and honor in our system or it's just -- it's going to fall apart. >> reporter: biden will watch returns with his family here in delaware. the stage is set behind me. the campaign saying it is likely he will deliver remarks whatever the outcome tonight. lester? >> all right, kristen welker, thanks. let's turn now to chuck todd, who's been poring over just released exit polling data. this is early data. >> very early. and it could change a little bit. but look, to me the most important thing in this election is going to be issuewise coronavirus versus the economy. what was prioritized. and we asked this question of the exit poll. here's the national exit poll here. 52% said containing the coronavirus should be prioritized. over rebuilding the economy, 42%. the president's closing message, lester, as you know, has been about got to

reopen, got to reopen. so look at that spread, 52-42. if you're a big fan of nbc news, if you've watched a lot of us here you know the final nbc news/"wall street journal" poll was 52-42. but let me go through a few states you can see. there's your national spread. battleground states. in iowa this is a state we expect to be very close. look how close that is, 49-46. let's go to another one we expect. north carolina, somewhere in between. it was 51 for the virus, 45 for the economy. a bit tighter than that national number. here's pennsylvania. this looks more like the national number. a few more older voters in pennsylvania. we have a feeling older voters are prioritizing the virus. and finally let me take you to florida. same thing. so if you're the president here and you just see this, you don't like what you've seen in florida and pennsylvania in particular because you see by a 10-point margin in both states they prioritize the virus over the economy, i promise you if that does correlate to the vote this is not good news for the president. >> all right, chuck, thanks very much. let's go to the key

battleground of pennsylvania now where the vote count may not be very fast this evening. rehema ellis is in philadelphia. rehema, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: lester, the keystone state could be a key in this election. but because it's expected to be a tight race we might not know who won for a while. this morning officials began counting hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots. the democratic governor said it could take days for a final tally. they're counting all ballots postmarked today even if they arrive later this week. one polling place reporting a line of three to four hours to vote. the president has sizable backing in the western part of the state thanks to his support of fracking. biden is hoping black voters here in philadelphia who stayed home four years ago will vote with him on police reform. it is literally an issue on the ballot here in philadelphia today. lester? >> all right. rehema ellis with the view from philadelphia. thank you. we want to turn now to nbc's kerry sanders. he's in the crucial state of florida where this race has been a dead heat, unlike

pennsylvania we'll get results there faster. kerry, how's it looking? >> reporter: well, lester, here in florida there are still voters in line. when all is said and done, florida may well exceed 85% voter turnout, a record. mail-in ballots are being counted right now. and because in florida unlike other battlegrounds they've already processed for weeks those mail-in ballots, we'll get a good idea early tonight who is winning here. but both campaigns believe independent voters over the age of 65 are the key group to watch tonight. lester? >> all right, kerry, thank you. as we've been reporting, one of the critical issues for voters heading to the polls is the surging covid pandemic. key battleground wisconsin among the states now seeing record cases. nbc's gabe gutierrez is there. >> reporter: in wisconsin today lines for covid testing alongside lines of voters. people brought not just passion to the polls but face masks too. in milwaukee chiara stroder voted for

biden. how important of an issue was the pandemic for you this year? >> it was very important because i'm actually immunocompromised. >> reporter: though wisconsin is seeing record-breaking new cases, covid seems overblown to these trump supporters in kenosha. >> personally, i am not super scared about the pandemic. >> anyone who blames covid on a politician is a fool. viruses are going to virus. >> reporter: according to a recent poll, some 41% of voters name the economy as the most important issue. while 38% cited the coronavirus. across the country covid hospitalizations have surged by more than 10,000 in just two weeks. 13-year-old payton balmgarth is now the youngest person to die from the virus in missouri. >> he's such a sweet boy. >> his mother is devastated. >> hold on to the people that you love. hold them tight. tell them you love them. and know that covid is real. >> reporter: here in wisconsin election officials don't plan to finish counting

absentee ballots until well past midnight. lester? >> gabe, thanks very much. we want to turn now to our elections director john lapinski who heads up our decisions desk. and john, what are the chances we're going to dmoe who wins tonight? >> we're going to be looking for a few things on election night. two of the most important things are going to be how much vote is actually counted and the differences between early vote and election day volt. i think it's probably a 50-50 proposition of whether we're going to actually be able to put a check mark in for the overall presidency. but i think that we are going to be call some states. i think states like florida, north carolina, and arizona are going to count most of the vote up. so if there's any spread in those states, we should be able to put in check marks. if they're tied of course we won't be able to. and then in states like michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin we need to be 99.5% confident to call those states and we may not have enough vote to do that on election night. >> all right, john, thanks for the breakdown. savannah guthrie, co-anchor of the "today" show, and andrea mitchell, our senior washington

correspondent, join me now. andrea, an extraordinary election at a pivotal time. what are you watching for tonight? >> i'm really looking at how women are going to vote. the suburban white women who did not turn out in significant enough numbers for hillary clinton 2016. there's been a big gender gap throughout the polling throughout the last couple of weeks of this election. and women seem to be reacting to something that the president is aware of because the president's been recently at rallies saying suburban women, please like me. well, that's partly because the polls tell us that women are disproportionately affected by covid. they're at home taking care of the home. they're also the majority of frontline workers. they're taking care of kids, educating kids at home. and a lot of them seem turned off by his handling of the pandemic and also some of his language. >> andrea thanks. let's turn it over to savannah right now. what are you focusing on here? >> i'll use the old line, everything's been said but not everybody has said it, lester. we have to just take a step back. we all know what happened in 2016 where polls seemed to miss the mark. and this night was a surprise for a lot of people. now the x factor is

even higher. you've got 100 million people who have already voted in this country. we may see turnout today that sets records, smashes records. you've also got voting laws that have changed in nearly every state. we don't know who is going to turn out. we don't know what the demographic breakdown is. buckle up. it's going to be a long night, long week, long month. democracy in action. and we're in it together. we'll remember that. savannah, thanks. and andrea as well. in at'llground arizona it could all hinge on hundreds of thousands of new voters. our gadi schwartz is there. gadi-y do some people they could flip the state? >> arizona has picked up about 700,000 new voters since 2016. and now the big question is whether these new voters will fall in line behind arizona's long history of volting for a republican for president or whether new young voters, latino voters and people moving here from other states could turn arizona blue. all of this playing out here in maricopa county. it's a county that gave president trump

more votes than any other county back in 2016. and a sign of the times, people are voting over here. over here in this parking lot they're getting tested for covid-19. lester? >> kind of sums up the year. gadi, thanks very much. let's go to georgia where there could be a big shift with black voters leading the way. nbc's blayne alexander is in atlanta. what are you seeing tonight? >> reporter: for the first time in nearly 30 years democrats believe they have a real shot at turning georgia blue and that's due in part to black voters turning out in large numbers. now, as for today's voting, lester, it was mostly smooth sailing. i was at this very precinct back during the june primary. the line stretched all the way down the block. people waited here for hours. but officials say because of early voting turnout numbers the lines were shorter this time around and the secretary of state tells me because of early voting they could have the state's numbers tallied by the end of the night. lester? >> all right, blayne, thanks. not just about the president. also hanging in the balance this evening is the control of the u.s. senate.

kasie hunt joins us. what are the key races to watch this evening? >> reporter: lester, good evening. tonight the senate majority is up for grabs. democrats need to win a net of three seats. if joe biden wins the white house. or four if president trump wins to take back the senate. sources in both parties believe it could all come down to north carolina, which is one of four swing states where democrats are hoping to win. there is tougher ground for democrats in a handful of red states like iowa, where the president won by nine points in 2016 but where he's now struggling by comparison. and that could hurt republican senator joni ernst. if joe biden wins the white house but democrats don't win the senate, it will be much harder for democrats to get things done. >> a lot for us to track tonight. kasie, thank you very much. in just 60 seconds, fears that the post office failed to deliver hundreds of thousands of ballo ts these are real people, not actors, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin.

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concern that hundreds of thousands of mail-in votes may not be delivered in time. tom costello is following that for us. tom, what do we know right now? >> reporter: lester, the postal service just reported 300,000 ballots that had been received, had not been scanned for delivery. so a federal judge ordered postal inspectors to immediately sweep key post offices in battleground states looking for any ballots. as you know, more than half the states require ballots to arrive by today. importantly, before president trump's new postmaster general took over, on-time delivery was averaging 95%. it's now down to 89%, just 69% in central pa, 61% on-time rate in atlanta. the postal service is blaming the pandemic. democrats accuse the service of slowing the mail into the election. lester? >> one of the storylines we'll be following here. tom, thank you. with mail-in voting shattering records, we've got an inside look tonight at how one of the country's largest jurisdictions is making sure every ballot counts.

here's jo ling kent with that. >> reporter: across the country county registrars are in overdrive, processing the record-breaking number of mailed-in ballots. from coast to coast the pressure is on to get done right and fast. here in orange county, california once the ballots arrive at the registrar they're sent through this scanner, capturing the signatures on the outside. then each one is scrutinized by specially trained workers to make sure they match. >> it's a system that has been in place and has gone through audits and recounts for decades. and so this is not just our first rodeo. we've done this many times. >> reporter: one thing that really speeds up the process are these new envelope-opening machines. they separate out the ballots. they can process up to 1,500 an hour. >> reporter: but not every county can move this quickly and stress around counting these votes mounting as the u.s. postal service reported its fifth straight day of delays and fewer on-time ballot deliveries. 28 states will not accept ballots that arrive later than today. even if they are

postmarked before election day. back here in orange county, once they're done counting all of the votes, like so many other counties nationwide, they're hanging on to these paper ballots just in case they need to do a recount. lester? >> all right, jo ling, thank you. up next for us, a don't worry, julie... coughing's not new. this woman coughs... and that guy does, too. people cough in the country, at sea, and downtown. but don't worry, julie... robitussin shuts coughs down.

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here's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: tonight a nation on edge is bracing for unrest. iconic cities nearly unrecognizable. plastered in plywood, fortified before protests. >> we're living in really crazy times. so anything's possible. >> reporter: with retailers locked down and boarded up, the national guard is standing by in philadelphia and chicago while ready to deploy in several states including oregon. >> political violence will not be tolerated. not from the left, not from the right, and not from the center. >> reporter: after months of turmoil in portland, cities like los angeles, seattle, and new york are preparing for violence again. even the world famous rodeo drive is closed to the public. we had to get police permission to be here. stores are bracing for days, if not weeks of protests. >> there will be a lot of backlash no matter

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the road leading us to tonight has been a tough one. but after a year of tragedy and unrest americans have turned out in force to make their voices heard. here's harry smith. >> reporter: americans by the millions have been voting. often enduring long lines and bad weather to do their civic duty. no matter the outcome, perhaps we can agree we can do better. voting should be easy, accessible, safe, free of suppression, intimidation. the days ahead will be a test. the sheer number of votes may crash systems. vote counting may take days. social media will erupt with tales of who knows what. our brains are spinning. we are on edge. the future uncertain. but maybe the best way to look forward is to look back. as the oldest country of its kind, we bear a responsibility, to behave in a manner that honors the sacrifice of the many

who have worked to ensure that the republic stands. courage, civility, patience. and let us once again find the spirit that believes there is more that unites us than divides us. harry smith, nbc news. >> and that's "nightly news" for this tuesday. i'll be with you for our special election night coverage beginning just moments from now. thank you for watching, everyone. i'm lester holt. please take care of

hello, everyone. we are seeing our first race results of the night. georgia and south carolina. they're right now too early to ll. good evening, everyone. welcome to nbc news election headquarters. live coverage of election night 2020. it is finally here. >> yeah. the polls are already closing around the country. here's what we'll be watching. first the fight between donald trump and joe biden for those crucial battleground states that will decide the election